Image verification system, image verification apparatus, and image verification method

Abstract

An image verification system includes an image generation apparatus and a first verification apparatus. The image generation apparatus (a) generates image data, (b) generates a hash value from the image data, and (c) generates first verification data from the hash value using a common key cryptography and not using a public key cryptography. The first verification apparatus (a) receives the hash value and the first verification data, (b) verifies, using the received hash value, the received first verification data and the common key cryptography, whether the image data is altered, and (c) generates second verification data from the hash value using the public key cryptography, if the first verification apparatus verifies that the image data is not altered.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]1. Field of the Invention[0002]The present invention relates to a system, apparatus, method, etc. which verify whether image data generated by an image generation apparatus such as a digital camera has been altered.[0003]2. Related Background Art[0004]Recently, digital cameras which store optical images of subjects by digitizing them have been put into practical use.[0005]Image data created by a digital camera can be captured easily into a personal computer, but at the same time there is the problem that it can be altered easily on the personal computer. Consequently, image data created by a digital camera has the problem that it has lower reliability than silver halide photographs and is not very admissible as evidence. Therefore, digital camera systems have recently been proposed which have a capability to attach a digital signature to image data created by a digital camera. Conventional digital camera systems are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pa...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0007]The present invention can solve the above-described problems and can provide a capability to verify whether image data generated by an image generation apparatus such as a digital camera has been altered while reducing the costs of the apparatus.

Problems solved by technology

Image data created by a digital camera can be captured easily into a personal computer, but at the same time there is the problem that it can be altered easily on the personal computer.

Consequently, image data created by a digital camera has the problem that it has lower reliability than silver halide photographs and is not very admissible as evidence.

However, the public-key cryptography such as RSA encryption, which involves exponent operations and multiplication / division operations, is not good at high-speed processing and requires hundreds to thousands of times as much processing time as common-key cryptography such as DES.

Thus, there is the problem that conventional digital cameras with their limited computational resources have great difficulty in generating digital signatures.

Although there is a way to improve the performance of the computational resources of digital signatures extensively so that digital signatures can be generated easily, this is not desirable because such a method will greatly increase the costs of the digital cameras themselves.

Images